Quality of Life after Stroke - A Department of Health Funded Section 64 Project .
This report is the culmination of three years of intensive field work study. We hope that it will add to the understanding of the Quality of Life after Stroke.
A key element in the report was the development of a comprehensive set of standards. These were designed to help assess services in the nine pilot sites that were involved in the project. All sites visited had examples of good practice.
S troke is a major event in the life of not only the person who has had a stroke, but also their immediate family. We found that whilst generally, members of staff demonstrated positive attitudes when communicating with users, families and carers, there was limited information about local services describing what was available to users and carers in a range of formats appropriate to their needs and impairments. Up to date and accurate information on relevant health and social care related issues were not always available to users and carers covering all stages of the care process.
Whilst it was clear that there are dedicated staff within stroke services, the role of the Stroke Services Co-ordinator is pivotal in bringing people together in a multi disciplinary arena to ensure that stroke patients’ emotional needs are assessed alongside their medical and care assessment.